Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Raised by Invst LLC

Invst LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,003 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Invst LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Retirement Planning Group LLC NY purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $535,000. Cache Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $14,249,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $322,481,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $427,000. Finally, Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,464,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $480.24 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $434.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $419.74. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $481.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.68.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.